Minor League Baseball announced the Player and Pitcher of the Month Award winners for May in each of the 11 leagues in Major League Baseball’s player development system. The San Francisco Giants led the way with three winners, and 15 organizations had at least one winner.
The Los Angeles Angels had two winners in the Pacific Coast League, including Triple-A Salt Lake first baseman David MacKinnon, who batted .344/.436/.656 and led the league in hits (33).
MacKinnon finished second in RBI (25) and total bases (63) and was third in runs (22), fourth in home runs (seven) and fifth in average (.344) and walks (16). He had nine multi-hit games, including four three-hit games and a four-hit game.
MacKinnon, 27, was selected by the Angels in the 32nd round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of the University of Hartford.
Bees left-hander Jake Kalish was also a winner after going 3-0 with a 1.05 ERA in four starts. He allowed 15 hits, three walks and held opponents to a .172 batting average while striking out 27 in 25.2 innings.
Kalish, 30, was originally selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 32nd round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of George Mason University. He signed with the Angels as a Minor League free agent on March 19, 2022.
Angels trying to remain positive during losing streak
After being swept by the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees, then losing to the Philadelphia Phillies, the Angels have now lost nine games in a row. They enter play Saturday with a 27-26 record and 7.5 games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West standings.
Fortunately for the Angels, it’s still very early in the season, and manager Joe Maddon believes his team has plenty of time to right the ship.
Despite their losses, multiple projection systems have the Angels as a playoff team in some capacity, mostly as a wild card team, according to FiveThiryEight.com, Fangraphs, and Baseball-Reference. However, their losses have led to some executives around the league questioning the projections and sharing their skepticism.
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